


Baby, It's Cold Outside

by whynotcallitvanda (AthenaMay24)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (and yes I know the song is subject to much debate, :-), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, Fluffy, Rating May Change, Vision is Wanda's upstairs neighbor, alternateuniversescarletvision, and the power goes out, but I figured if I didn't post the first chapter now, haven't completely planned this out all the way, hope you enjoy!, it just fits really well with the fic and I'm bad at titles, it wouldn't happen, please don't let it bother you), so here it is, written from a prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-10-01 00:11:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17233772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AthenaMay24/pseuds/whynotcallitvanda
Summary: Written for "Christmas Prompt #6" from Alternate Universe Scarlet Vision on Tumblr."A snowstorm kills the power to Wanda’s apartment. Luckily, her upstairs neighbour still has electricity, and pauses his Christmas movies to let her use his blankets and make tea in his apartment while he wraps presents."





	Baby, It's Cold Outside

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, y'all. I've been wanting to write an AU for a while now, and this prompt from Alternate Universe Scarlet Vision over on Tumblr was just perfect! 
> 
> The prompt: https://alternateuniversescarletvision.tumblr.com/post/181354026742/christmas-prompt-6
> 
> Enjoy! Updates hopefully won't be too sporadic.

Wanda had the entire top half of her body deep inside her closet when the power flickered the first time. She froze on her quest to dig out the shoeboxes she would’ve sworn were shoved back there. The floor of the closet was carpeted with laundry—both clean and dirty—tangled necklaces, scattered rings, and at least twelve pairs of shoes she’d yet to wear this year. The junk on the floor was the reason her feet were planted squarely outside the closet, and she was leaning over as far as she could, one hand anchored on the doorframe, digging around for the shoeboxes.

It was probably the worst position she could imagine—except showering—being in when the power goes off. She held her breath, waiting to see if it would stay on.

It flickered again, and then—

Darkness.

Wanda let out a screech of frustration that she was sure her new upstairs neighbor could hear perfectly clearly.

Heaving herself upright, she managed to keep from toppling over. The shoeboxes were a lost cause. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, trying to get adjusted to the sudden darkness. Her bedroom was as dark as she could make it, thanks to the heavy blackout curtains she’d hung to take care of the pesky streetlight directly outside her window. It used to keep her up at night. She didn’t need anything _else_ impeding her sleep, that’s for sure.

Wanda would have given a lot for the full effect of the streetlight now, as she fumbled across her room. Usually navigating her own space in the dark wasn’t really a problem, but she was annoyed and impatient, not thinking clearly.

As she stumbled for the door, she made the rookie mistake of catching her foot on the strap of a bag that had literally been sitting in that same spot for months. She went tumbling to the ground, catching her hip on the corner of her dresser as she fell.

Pain exploded in her side, and she struggled to breathe.

_Pietro!_

_The building collapsing around them, bricks, steel, plaster, and bone thundering down past their heads. Pietro’s grip on her arm so tight she can feel him making bruises. Moans that could be others trapped, could be the wind swirling through the rubble, could be coming from her own mouth, and the pressure on her chest, the weight of it all, trapping her on the floor._

Wanda muffled another scream, sucking in breath after breath. She pressed her hand into her hip, used the pain to ground herself in reality, in the moment, the moment where she was safe in a whole other country, and it was Christmas, and she was alone.

She pulled herself to her feet and hobbled to the kitchen where she’d left her phone. Her hip ached.

Consistent with her usual luck, her phone battery was less than 30%, which boded well for the rest of the outage.

She typed out a quick text to Pietro about the lack of electricity and waited impatiently for a reply. He didn’t need the update, but she wanted some kind of reassurance that he was all right. She got that way sometimes.

Thankfully, her twin was just as synced with her as usual, seemingly aware that she needed an immediate response. He answered after only a minute, expressing sympathy for her situation.

Wanda hated that he wasn’t there with her right now, but she understood that his schedule was crazy. He’d be here for Christmas Day, and that was all that mattered.

It wasn’t very long before she was freezing. She was wearing a hoodie she’d stolen from Pietro and a pair of yoga pants, her usual lounging around the apartment attire, but without the heat running it wasn’t much protection from the snowstorm raging outside. She had thicker clothes in her closet, but she really didn’t want to brave her bedroom just yet.

All of her blankets were out in her car. At the time she’d put them out there, she’d been proud of her forethought and preparation for the possibility of getting stranded out on the road.

She supposed she could run out to get them. From her window, the snow drift didn’t look that bad, and the parking deck was covered, so she’d just have to make it about a hundred feet from the door of the apartment building to the deck entrance. Plus, once she was there, she could crank the car and warm up for a bit before she had to come back inside.

It was as good a plan as any, and it didn’t involve continuing to do nothing up here until she froze to death.

Wanda yanked on her shoes before she could change her mind, grabbed her keys, and slipped into the hall. Thankfully, the apartment complex was equipped with emergency lighting, so she was able to see her way to the stairs, but it was just as cold, if not colder, in the hallway, staircase, and lobby.

Her resolve crumbled when she reached the lobby. The streetlights illuminated piles and piles of snow, stark against the night, drifts much higher than she'd thought from her bedroom. Someone had shoveled the walkway to the parking deck, but that had clearly been a while ago, as the snow was already at least ankle deep.

Wanda blew out a breath, hopping from one foot to the other, arms wrapped tightly around herself, reevaluating whether the blankets were worth braving the snow.

"Excuse me, miss?"

A man's voice coming from over her shoulder made her start, let out a small shriek, and spin around. He was tall, blonde, and pale, but her response to his words made him flush bright pink.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to startle you." He was really handsome, something Wanda noticed as soon as her heartbeat slowed down a bit. His good looks and sexy British accent didn't do anything to help her embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it," she mumbled, running a hand through her wild hair. "Happens all the time."

"Ah." There was an awkward pause. The man rocked back on his heels, hands in his pockets, and then blurted, a little too loudly, "Do you know what's wrong with the elevator? And the lights down here, as well?"

"Uh," Wanda cleared her throat. "The power's out? Has been for almost an hour now."

The man blinked at her. "Has it really? It's just fine in my place."

"What? Really?" That figured. Of course Wanda's would be the one with the problems. "What floor are you?"

"Fourth."

"I'm the third." Wanda sighed.

The man nodded sympathetically, and then moved to the mailboxes lining the wall on the right. Wanda didn't mean to, but she glanced at the mailbox he opened. Apartment 408. He was in the unit directly above hers. She felt her face heating again, wondering how many noises he'd heard from her since he moved in.

He turned around, mail in hand, and Wanda realized she was standing there staring at him. She quickly turned back towards the front door, but of course it was completely obvious that she'd been looking at him.

Through her peripheral vision she watched him pause at the door to the stairs and turn back around.

"I hope I'm not overstepping, but may I ask if you need any assistance?”

Wanda bit her lip, and spun around, arms still clenched across her chest to stave off the cold. "No, I'm fine." She almost left it at that, but something about the genuine concern in his eyes—surprising coming from a stranger—compelled her to add, "I left all my blankets in the car, so I'm trying to work up the will to run out and get them."

"Oh," the man's body was turned completely towards her now. "Your heat is out, I suppose?"

Wanda nodded.

"I have plenty of extra blankets, if you'd prefer borrowing some from me to facing the elements," he offered earnestly, but then added hastily, "Only if you want. There's no pressure at all, of course."

Wanda hesitated, thought about her car, way out through the snow, and about this handsome man, who didn’t _seem_ like a rapist or murderer. Besides, he was just offering her blankets. It's not like she had to go _in_ his apartment.

"I—Actually, I'd really appreciated that, if it's not too much trouble. My apartment is freezing."

"Of course! No trouble at all." The man smiled, and Wanda couldn't help but smile right back at him. 

“I’m Wanda, by the way,” she said as she followed up to the stairs.

He appeared flustered, stuttering over his words, “Vis—Well, actually, it’s Victor, but most people call me Vision.”

Wanda wanted to ask where he acquired the nickname, but he already seemed embarrassed about how he introduced himself, so she simply smiled and said, “Nice to meet you, Vision.”

He smiled right back at her, ducking his head, and they climbed the stairs in comfortable silence.


End file.
